Payback
by JailyForever
Summary: Cecily (Mrs Zabini) has a startling realisation when her son witnesses her husband abuse her
**A/N:**

 **Written as part of an assignment for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry (Challenges & Assignments)**

 **Task:** Write about a woman getting violent, perhaps murderous revenge on an abusive husband

 **Chocolate Frog:** Bronze – Sedley Smirkplatter – Prompts – Smirk, Year

 **1000 Word Challenge:** Sympathy

 **Gringotts:** Noun – Fist, Bruise, Finger, Plan, Time, Work, Distraction, Catch, Guard, Chair, Television, Shirt, Disgust, Jeans, Tea, Pan, Darling, Meal, Plate, Food, Substance, Lap, Pig, Clock, Seat, Chin, Pain, Model, Death, Event, Sympathy, Widow; Adjective – Terrified, Weak, Sleek, Black, Last, Vulnerable, Terrible, Perfect, Certain, Comfortable, Obvious, Hungry, Sweet, Hot, Cold, Little, Horrific, Violent, Vital, Important; Verb – Match, Lay, Escape, Save, Catch, Cough, Claim, Hope, Twitch, Beat

 **Word Count:** 876

* * *

Payback

She fell to the ground in a heap and rubbed her cheek where her husband's fist had connected with her face. She wouldn't be surprised if she had a bruise by morning to match the ones that covered her entire body.

The witch heard a strangled sob come from the stairwell. Her eyes flickered over in that direction, and she saw the terrified, tear stained face of her five year old son, Blaise clutching his favourite teddy bear and blanket.

She felt her heart splinter into several pieces knowing that her son had witnessed his father hurt her. She gave her son a weak smile to prove to him that she was okay and pleaded with her eyes for him to return to his bedroom where he would be safe from the wrath of her husband.

As he grabbed her sleek, black ponytail and pulled her backwards, Cecily vowed that this would be the very last time that she allowed her husband to lay a finger on her.

* * *

Over the next few weeks a plan began to form in Cecily's mind; a plan whereby she could escape her abusive marriage and save her son from ever seeing her so vulnerable again.

The front door slammed loudly behind her husband, as it had been doing every week day for the last two weeks. He was having a terrible time of it at work which served as the perfect distraction. He had been far too busy to pay attention to her, and therefore Cecily was certain that when the time came she would be able to catch him off guard. Her husband would never see it coming.

Cecily eyed her husband as he sat down as he always did in his chair and turned the television on. She let out a quiet noise indicating her disgust as he flipped the footrest up and made himself comfortable; his shirt rode up slightly and revealed his very obvious beer belly that was spilling out over the waistband of his jeans. The witch couldn't believe that she had once found the man attractive.

"How long will tea be Cecily?" he grunted from his chair, never moving his eyes from the television.

Cecily looked from the pan to her husband and back again, before picking up her wand and muttering a charm to speed things along.

"In the next five minutes darling," she called back in a sickly sweet voice. "I hope you're hungry."

The witch busied herself adding the finishing touches to the meal, before removing a small vial from her pocket and sprinkled the contents of the untraceable substance over her husband's food.

She placed the piping hot plate of food onto a tray and carried it through to her husband and placed it on his lap, before returning to claim her own from the kitchen and joining him in the living room.

Cecily watched out of the corner of her eye as the vile pig shovelled his food into his mouth and swallowed. The corners of her mouth itched to twitch up into a smirk as her eyes flicked towards the clock. If everything went according to plan she would be rid of her husband in about ten minutes.

He began to cough and splutter, clawing at his neck with his hands as spurts of blood spilled from his mouth.

It had begun.

Cecily watched with a cold stare on her face as her husband beseeched her with his eyes for her to help him. He held out his hands which were now covered in blood towards her as he gasped out her name.

It was moments later when Cecily saw the look of realisation dawn on her husband's face, which quickly morphed into confusion as he croaked out, "Why?"

"Why? You seriously have the nerve to ask why?" Cecily hissed from her seat, placing her own tray to one side. "I bet you thought you had yourself the perfect, little, submissive wife, didn't you? All those years of beatings and I never fought back. But that's all changed because my son saw me – "

Cecily flew from her seat and grasped her husband's chin and pushed it upwards so that he was looking in her eyes.

"He saw me in pain caused by you. He was so broken and that – that is why you are here now," she raged as her husband began to gasp for air. "So that my boy doesn't look towards a vile, pig of a man like you as a role model and think that it is alright to beat women. Goodbye Daniel."

Cecily straightened herself up and stepped over her husband's cold dead body, and closed her eyes.

She conjured up as many horrific images as she could until she was crying before she picked up the phone and played the hysteric wife who had just witnessed her husband's violent, unexplained death.

No one would ever suspect that she had played a vital and all important part in his demise. All people would later say is that it was fortunate that their young son had been at a sleepover at a friend's house when the horrific event had occurred, and express sympathy for the young widow who now faced raising a child alone.

 **A/N:**

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 **All feedback is appreciated**

 **xoxo**


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